You Won’t Believe All the Stars That Were Almost Cast on Friends
Tiffani Thiessen as Rachel Green
After her stint as Kelly Kapowski came to an end on Saved By the Bell, Thiessen screen-tested for another iconic ’90s character.
“Did you know I tested for Friends, for Jennifer Aniston?” she revealed on SiriusXM’s You Up With Nikki Glaser in 2018. “I was just a little too young. I was a little too young to the pairing of the rest of them.”
Jane Krakowski as Rachel Green
“Well, I, like almost every actor auditioned for Friends,” The 30 Rock star told E!’s Giuliana Rancic at the 2015 Emmys. “I wish I had gotten that one…I didn’t go very far.”
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt actress said she’s not even sure she got a callback for the gig, joking, “My business manager is very sad that I didn’t.”
Lisa Whelchel as Rachel Green
The Facts of Life alum, who is a devout Christian, explained that her faith kept her from really going after the role.
“There were many opportunities I maybe could have pursued, but I didn’t feel comfortable,” Whelchel said in a 2014 episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now? “I remember reading the pilot episode and I said to my husband, ‘This is the funniest script I have ever read and this is going to be a huge hit. But I can tell it’s just going to be all about sex and anything to go with that.'”
While Whelchel said, “I don’t regret not taking that opportunity,” her kids felt differently.
“I remember my daughter once said, ‘Are you telling me Brad Pitt could have been my father?'”
Téa Leoni as Rachel Green
Reportedly the first choice for the role, Leoni ultimately passed on Friends to star in another sitcom for NBC, The Naked Truth, which aired for three seasons.
Nancy McKeon as Monica Gellar
Another Facts of Life star who was considered for one of the main roles, McKeon was actually one of the favorites for the most competitive and cleanest friend, narrowly losing out to Courteney Cox.
“She gave a terrific performance,” NBC’s then-head of casting Lori Openden said of McKeon in an interview with Vanity Fair. “Warren [Littlefield, then NBC president] let Marta [Kauffman] and David [Crane] make the call. They went off for a walk and came back and said Courteney.”
Nancy McKeon as Monica Gellar
Another Facts of Life star who was considered for one of the main roles, McKeon was actually one of the favorites for the most competitive and cleanest friend, narrowly losing out to Courteney Cox.
“She gave a terrific performance,” NBC’s then-head of casting Lori Openden said of McKeon in an interview with Vanity Fair. “Warren [Littlefield, then NBC president] let Marta [Kauffman] and David [Crane] make the call. They went off for a walk and came back and said Courteney.”
Janeane Garofalo as Monica Gellar
“When we originally wrote the role, we had Janeane Garofalo’s voice in our head,” co-creator Crane told Vanity Fair in 2012, though it’s never been confirmed if the standup comedian ever auditioned.
“Darker and edgier and snarkier,” Crane described the initial personality traits for Monica, adding that “Courteney brought a whole bunch of other colors to it. We decided that, week after week, that would be a lovelier place to go to.”
